Rockets iron out offense, run over Hornets

NEW ORLEANS — The Rockets had made their repairs, moved the ball and built a lead that reached 19 points. In the second half, in a stunning and crucial turnaround, they even cut down on their turnovers for a while.

But with nearly 10 minutes left, it all shut down. The ball got “sticky,” as coach Kevin McHale hates to say but likes to put it. For nearly six fourth-quarter minutes, the offense that had lived up to Thursday’s session of the Kevin McHale Film Festival broke down.

The Rockets missed seven shots with five turnovers. They had defended well enough earlier that the Hornets only pulled to within 10 points, the deficit they had made up in the Rockets’ previous trip to New Orleans.

Then, with absolutely no warning, ball movement was back. The Hornets blitzed James Harden on a pick-and-roll and Harden quickly passed to Patrick Patterson. Patterson found Jeremy Lin. Lin passed to Carlos Delfino. Delfino swished his 3-pointer.

With four minutes left, the Rockets’ offense had been revived. The Rockets not only rolled the rest of the way, surging past the Hornets 100-82, they returned to the scene of their decline and demonstrated what can happen when they fail to move and take care of the ball and also what they can be when they do.

“That’s what we were talking about, especially in that fourth quarter,” said Harden, who scored 30 points, his most since before the Rockets’ skid began in New Orleans on Jan. 9. “They went on a run and scored easy points. I think all of us thought about that game that started the losing streak. We didn’t want that feeling anymore.”

Flurry of assists

When the ball movement returned, everything fell into place.

“They tried trapping me, and I tried to make the easy play,” said Harden, who went from seven turnovers in the first half to just one the rest of the way. “Guys made the right play. Patrick didn’t try to force it. Carlos got an open shot. That’s how we have to play to be successful. We’re not talented enough, not good enough to hold the ball and make individual plays.”

Harden set up Delfino two more times as the Rockets pulled away. Of their six field goals in the fourth quarter, only Harden’s five-footer did not come off an assist. The Rockets’ 23 assists were more than in all but one game in their slide to losses in eight of nine games. The passing led to open shots, especially on the perimeter, where the Rockets made 52.4 percent of their 3-pointers (11-of-21).

“That is exactly what it is, ball movement,” said Lin, who had 13 points with eight assists. “We have one playmaker who is going to make the play, find the right guy and then we’re going to keep on going down the line until we find the shot that we know we are supposed to take.”

On Friday, the ball typically found Patterson and Delfino. When Patterson was not hitting the boards better than he has all season, matching his career high with 13 rebounds, he typically got open for simple pick-and-pop jumpers, scoring 18 points. Delfino made four of six 3-pointers, scoring 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Basketball made easy

Delfino reveled in the Rockets playing the way he has urged all season and as they had not lately, beginning with their previous fourth quarter in New Orleans when they scored just 10 points.

“We can come back to being the team of late December, early January,” Delfino said. “Everybody had fun. Everybody was running. Everybody got involved. If you move the ball, everybody can find open shots. It makes basketball easy.”

After two trying weeks when everything was difficult, including a six-minute stretch of a reminder Friday, going back to the easy way was a welcome change.